


A Casual Brunch With the Barba Triplets

by FreckledSkittles



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Brunch, Established Relationship, He/They Sonny Carisi, M/M, Meet the Family, Other, Triplets, more like meet the triplets haha
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:28:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26882911
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FreckledSkittles/pseuds/FreckledSkittles
Summary: Sonny Carisi doesn’t keep secrets. He’s so expressive, so open, that they can’t help but spoil the secrets without opening his mouth.Rafael Barba is notorious for keeping secrets. He’s so heavily guarded that he forgets to keep some clarity. Not everyone wants to be an open book, and it just means there’s more to discover and more time to fall deeper in love with Rafael.But there may be a big secret that Sonny thinks should have been discussed.xxx“Cousin?”“Brother. Triplet.”“Triplet?!”“Has this not come up before?”
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 14
Kudos: 53





	A Casual Brunch With the Barba Triplets

**Author's Note:**

  * For [StillNotMeShh](https://archiveofourown.org/users/StillNotMeShh/gifts), [adabarbacarisi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/adabarbacarisi/gifts).



> So in a conversation on Twitter with both StillNotMeShh and adabarbacarisi, the idea of Rafael being a triplet with Freddie Trumper and Frederick Chilton came up and listen I fully support this AU okay  
> Shout out to those homies for inspiring me to write this and future shout out if this inspires you to write your own take on the Triplets™
> 
> Important disclaimer: Sonny uses he/they pronouns in this. Honestly, Sonny using he/they pronouns is so valid and wonderful and it deserves more attention. I don't use those pronouns, and I couldn't find a beta available who could pronoun check, so if there are any errors you catch, please let me know!!! I don't want to portray he/they pronouns inaccurately and people who use he/they pronouns are just as worthy of error-free representation as anyone else
> 
> Freddie (aka Alfredo bc there can't be two Fredericks and also an accidental nod to Alfredo Aldarisio, Raúl's character in "Pushing Daisies") is the oldest; Frederick is the middle (shout out to all the middle children out there, how are we doing today); Rafael is the baby (as he SHOULD—soul_writerr and I have reached the conclusion that the B in Barba is for "baby")

Sonny Carisi doesn’t keep secrets. The closest they got was a birthday gift for their boyfriend, but even then, it hadn’t lasted for more than a day or so. He doubts he would be the one to propose—because he definitely wants to marry Rafael Barba, even if it’s only been a year and a half since they started dating—because he wouldn’t be able to keep it down. It’s not that their mouth runs on its own, although it does, and most times they can’t control it. But he’s so expressive, so open, that they can’t help but spoil the secrets without opening his mouth. He’s lucky Rafael finds it so endearing.

Rafael Barba is notorious for keeping secrets. He’s so heavily guarded that he forgets to keep some clarity. At the very least, if he wants to surprise Sonny, he can do it without crumbling under the pressure. Maybe there are some things he should be vocal about, but Sonny doesn’t mind if he hides a few things. Not everyone wants to be an open book, and it just means there’s more to discover and more time to fall deeper in love with Rafael.

But there may be a big secret that Sonny thinks should have been discussed. Especially now that he’s introduced the Carisi clan of chaos to his boyfriend and are regular babysitters for Bella’s kids. Especially when they just started discussing moving in together. And especially after a stop at his previous workplace resulted in spotting a rather familiar figure on the news.

As soon as Sonny shuts the door behind them, Rafael is on him, hands snaked around their waist, mouths colliding together and conquering each swallow and yelp and cry. Rafael sighs when Sonny runs a hand down his back and digs into his ass. As great as it is for the two of them to share a workspace, especially with the fact that their concerns about conflicts of interest were now minuscule at best, ADAs Barba and Carisi were muted in sharing their affection during work hours. They only do so when they sneak in a private moment or, if Sonny is particularly thirsty one day, have to lock Rafael’s office door and take care of one another.

Rafael pulls back and presses his forehead against Sonny’s. “Alright,” he sighs, “five minutes of work talk starts now.”

Sonny grins and nuzzles their noses together. “I saw Mike today,” they say. Rafael hums in interest. “He was at SVU to help with a case.”

“Was the Homicide Lieutenant able to keep his hands off of the SVU Sergeant?”

“Absolutely not. You know them better than that. They were sharing a desk when I left.”

Rafael chuckles. “And let me guess, they were sitting a bit closer than they should have.”

“I mean, I still think the only reason why Mike transferred is so he and Nick could date.”

“Not just because Nick deserves a promotion to Sergeant and without a good word from someone with enough influence like Mike, he wouldn’t have earned it as easily?”

“That too. Speaking of having enough influence, did you ever hear back from Carson?”

Rafael rolls his eyes. “Yes, and it was utter bullshit. She said as great as your arguments were, they don’t apply to your case because of the statute of limitations.” He rubs Sonny’s sides to soothe his disappointed groan. “I know, and I pointed out the flaws of that argument, but she was adamant it didn’t count.”

Sonny bows their head and pouts. “I’m gonna go with it anyway. It doesn’t apply here and the defense just wants to eliminate the possibility that it does.”

Rafael kisses him, tasting like coffee and caramel. “I expect nothing less from you. I’ll proofread your opening and closing statements if you’d like.”

“Mm. Maybe you can help me with something else first.” Rafael tilts his head at the proposal, and Sonny takes a deep breath before speaking. He had been a bit cautious in asking something that could be so silly—especially in the topic of conversation around celebrity look-alikes—but he wouldn’t know his boyfriend’s reaction until he addressed the concern. And Rafael was always patient with the questions they asked that were a bit more abnormal, finding a laugh or a playful jab to ease the worries. Sonny can only hope he can get the same results here. “Do you know who Freddie Trumper is?”

Rafael’s eyes flash in immediate recognition. He doesn’t say anything at first, just runs a hand up Sonny’s side, drumming his fingers above his waistband. When he does open his mouth, it’s with a knowing glance and a coy smirk. “I think I know where you’re going with this already, but yes, I know him.”

“Personally?”

Rafael nods.

“I saw him on TV today.” It was a news report about the chess competition happening over the weekend. Sonny and Nick had caught some of it in between interrogations and were taken aback at how eerily similar the American chess player was to Rafael Barba, from his physical appearance to the sound of his voice. Even the way he rolled his r’s while quoting a Spanish idiom was an exact copy of Rafael. Sonny had to ask Nick, Mike, Amanda, and two other detectives to make sure his boyfriend wasn’t on the screen. It wasn’t Rafael Barba. Just someone who looked, sort of acted, and for sure sounded like him.

“Right, the chess tournament.” Rafael bites on his lower lip. “I should text him, wish him luck.”

“How do you know him? Cloning? Another dimension? Aliens?” 

Rafael smiles meekly at him, his hands slipping from his waist. “No. Just by blood relation.”

“Cousin?”

“Brother. Triplet.”

“Triplet?!”

“Has this not come up before?”

Sonny gawks at him. The audacity to suggest that being a triplet—as one is destined to talk about on a daily basis, because who doesn’t have a triplet these days—hasn’t come up after a year of dating. The mind-numbing fact that there are two—two!—look-alikes to his boyfriend. The disbelief that this is real, to the point where the only way to know it’s true is to see it in person. Sonny is relieved that their worst expectations didn’t come true, but they couldn’t have predicted this.

Rafael Barba has brothers. And they’re triplets.

“Prove it.”

* * *

They don’t talk much about it, aside from the typical planning of a day out and the announcement Rafael makes of “by the way, Freddie and Frederick are free on Sunday for brunch” that may as well have been said in passing for how casually he says it. Rafael doesn’t go into much more detail other than his brothers’ names and their professions. Freddie Trumper is a chess champion who spends more time abroad and hopping between countries, “exercising his brain” as he says, in competitions around the world. Frederick Chilton is the general administrator of Baltimore State Hospital for the Criminally Insane that houses those who are either criminally insane or are under evaluation for insanity. Both of them changed their last names to make separate names for themselves.

Sonny isn’t sure how to prepare for the brunch date. It’s not meeting new people or family members that has them spooked. He’s met a few Barba family members and it went as well as it could; the Barba’s are tried and true New Yorkers who are not afraid to defend themselves with words. Sonny’s concerns fall under how he should react to triplets, a concern that shouldn’t be one but has been categorized as one with the lack of information he’s received so far. Rafael had shown him a picture of the three at a recent family event: aside from their separate choices in fashion, both Freddie and Frederick were a few inches taller than Rafael; Freddie was larger than both brothers; Frederick’s face was a bit longer and his hair was a darker brown. But for the most part, with one look, it’s obvious how much they look alike.

That is what makes them triplets, Sonny muses to themself as they and Rafael are escorted to the reserved table, where the two brothers are already waiting.

When he sees them approaching, Freddie—it has to be him, much more rugged and with a wild glint in his eyes—grins and stands. “Good to see you, Rafi. We thought you would have let Mami do our introductions for you.”

Rafael rolls his eyes as Freddie pulls him into a tight hug, returning the gesture but not without a weak pat on the shoulder. “I kept her last name, I didn’t give away my dignity with it.”

“We heard you’ve been dating for a year,” Frederick states. Sonny never thought it was possible for someone to out-dress Rafael, but Frederick seems to have done it. His suit looks as expensive—possibly more—than Rafael’s, complete with a cane and ornate with a gold lion’s head on top, that leans against the round table. “That’s a bit long to go without mentioning your brothers.”

“How long did it take you to talk about us?” Rafael fires back. He steps back to gesture to Sonny, who waves and smiles at the replicas of his boyfriend. “Freddie, Frederick, Sonny. Are you satisfied?”

“He hasn’t gone under the brother test,” Freddie says with a hum, leaning forward to eye Sonny closer. A shiver runs down their spine at the shine of Freddie’s eyes. He’s calculating every square inch of him like he’s about to put him on a chess board and direct him into battle. His smile is reminiscent of a cat pleased with himself for catching prey that didn’t see him pounce until it was too late. “Do you have siblings, Sonny?”

His name is hissed out like a poisonous venom. Sonny swallows roughly and manages a nod. “Yeah, three sisters.”

Freddie’s grin widens. “So you understand. Sibling protection and all that.”

Sonny’s immediate impressions of two-thirds of the Barba triplets are simple: Freddie Trumper is a terrifying mind whose fierce intelligence and observation is only matched by his sharp tongue; Frederick Chilton, who stands to shake his hand, has a way of looking down his nose at him while remaining professional externally. In other words, they are as much a Barba as Rafael, last name changes be damned. That characterization that Sonny has adored is equally prevalent in the triplets, unavoidable even with a name change.

The second that drinks are served to the table, the interrogation begins. Freddie takes the first leap, leaning his elbows on the table. His hair has more streaks of gray, and his jaw sits pleasantly between Frederick’s dark beard and Rafael’s clean face. But his attire sticks out the most: all black, skin-tight, and a leather jacket hanging over his chair. “So, Sonny, you go to school?”

“Yeah, I graduated from Fordham and I went back a few years ago to get my law degree,” they say. The curl of Rafael’s fist against the table and the gaze that flickers between his brothers is not lost on him. Especially when Freddie simply nods and Frederick inhales through his nose.

“They passed the bar on their first try,” Rafael points out. His glare hardens over Frederick, who only sips at his screwdriver with an equally fiery stare. Sonny’s heart hammers with a thankful sort of pride at their boyfriend’s comment, laced with protection and a dedication that Sonny is more than thankful for.

Freddie smirks. “Congrats.”

“What was your Bachelor’s in?” Frederick wonders.

“Sociology,” Sonny says, “with a minor in history. I was undeclared for my first two semesters, and I had enough credits for a history minor, so I just took two more classes and finished it up.”

“Hmm.” Frederick doesn’t comment any further, but any disapproval he may have shown is replaced with satisfaction for now.

Sonny releases a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding in. “Will I get a chance to ask a question?” They ask.

“No,” Freddie says.

“Yes,” Rafael presses. The sound of a kick vibrates under the table.

“I think it’s only fair,” Frederick muses.

“Flip flop,” Freddie huffs.

Frederick scowls at the remark. “There is more than one way to gather information. Asking questions may tell us more about him.”

“And there is more than one way to look at someone that doesn’t involve a clinical approach,” Rafael sighs. Freddie cackles at the retort; Frederick’s scowl only deepens. “We’re not in your office.”

“Alfredo’s been looking at him like he’s a bishop on a chessboard. How about you share your concerns with him as well?”

“Don’t pull that middle child shtick on me, you know I’ll shit on him just as much.”

Freddie glares at the two of them. “Right, as if  _ I’m _ the one who needs the criticism the most.”

Rafael leans back in his chair with a dramatic roll of his eyes. “I know you’re not trying to turn this onto me when  _ you _ have been untraceable for  _ months _ at this point!”

“And  _ you _ are so engrossed in your work that even if I were in contact with you, you wouldn’t give me a response!”

Sonny is overwhelmed with a few things. Sitting at the table surrounded by three different versions of his boyfriend is mind-numbing enough on its own, but having all three versions arguing with one another and lobbing insults at each other only raises the anxiety and tension between them. Sonny thinks about stepping back for a moment to let them air everything out, but he doesn’t think the brothers would be able to keep themselves from throwing punches. He’s witnessed Rafael walk along the edge of throwing a fist and taking the high ground; the triplets will probably react the same.

Frederick glances between his brothers and leans forward, focused on Sonny. Just like Freddie—or Alfredo, apparently—he studies them, looking over the tie knotted at their throat, examining every seam of their clothes. “Rafael said you’re an ADA now. What compelled you to pursue that line of work?”

“A lot of it comes from the time I spent as a patrolman, especially when we had to escort criminals to the courthouse,” Sonny says. “But as a kid, I would look at different states and compare laws between them.” Frederick looks mildly interested, swirling the remnants of his screwdriver in the glass; both Freddie and Rafael halt their hushed bickering to look over as well. Sonny’s cheeks light up in mild embarrassment at the new attention he receives. “It started with that Jersey law that says you can’t pump your own gas and it sorta expanded after that.”

“Like what?” Freddie presses, propping a hand under his chin as he leans forward.

“Uhh,” Sonny glances at Rafael for a brief moment to garner his reaction from the growing curiosity of the brothers. Hopefully, this can stop them from fighting any longer and ease tensions. “Like, uh, it’s a misdemeanor in Goodyear, Arizona to spit in public. Or there was a Florida law that required people riding elephants to pay the meter if they ‘park’ it there. Even Canada has weird laws; like, there’s a town in Ontario that outlawed climbing trees on municipal land.”

“There are odd laws like that everywhere,” Frederick smirks. “In Maryland, you can’t swear while driving.”

“You live in Baltimore, right? What’re you doing up here?”

“I came to support my brother.” Frederick gives a fierce side-eye to Rafael, who scowls past the rim of his drink. “I try to keep up with what they’re doing.”

“Is that what you said when Mami told you about the death threats I had been receiving?” Rafael fires back. “I’m just curious.”

Frederick barely flinches at the retort. “No, I actually went to the source to send my support.”

Freddie, previously spinning the ice around in his drink, nods vigorously. “Funny, I had the same thing happen to me. Did you ever get a response from that, Ricky?”

Rafael opens and shuts his mouth before landing on an answer, seething with irritation. “The next time I have death threats, I’ll make sure my brothers are alright.”

“To be fair,” Sonny jumps in, “Rafael didn’t have a lotta access to his phone. And anything he did have was strictly monitored.”

“You weren’t dating then,” Frederick frowns. “How do you know?”

“I was part of his security detail. From the second we took the case, I was in charge of who protected him. So yeah,” Sonny shrugs, “we started dating five months after we closed the case, but I was one of the head detectives on the case.”

Frederick sits up straighter and leans closer to him. “Your history is intriguing.”

“Don’t evaluate him,” Rafael warns.

“You invited us to brunch to meet your boyfriend and you won’t even let us have a conversation,” Freddie snickers under his breath. “You must really care for him if you’re protecting him that much.”

“I…” Rafael trails off. Sonny watches him sag in his chair and glare at his drink. When Rafael had introduced him to his mother, she had eluded to how much he was cared for, both in the way she looked between them and the teasing jibes she sent them. Sonny isn’t so much surprised at their boyfriend’s behavior—Rafael keeps secrets, particularly when it applies to any deeper emotions that would expose any internal feelings. But there’s something satisfying to know that they may have been onto something. Rafael spares Sonny a quick glance, almost checking on their reaction. “Of course I care about him.”

“But you’ve always been protective of your significant others,” Frederick points out softly. A small smile appears on his lips. “It’s a telling sign.”

“You’re not as sly as you think,” Freddie adds with a teasing lilt to his voice.

Rafael scoffs at both of them. “I think you picked up on Ricky’s psychiatric tricks.”

“Or it’s just a trait of being a Barba.”

“I can attest to that,” Sonny laughs. He misses the face that Frederick and Freddie share with one another and then shoot at Rafael, who focuses even more on his drink with a deep flush across his cheeks. “I’ve met five of them in the past few months and you’re all the same.”

“I’m sure this whole thing has been entertaining for you,” Freddie smirks. “Even if you weren’t told about us.”

“Are we going to have this conversation again?” Rafael sighs.

“Until you make up for it, yes,” Frederick says.

“Fine. Brunch is on me.”

The rest of brunch develops better than Sonny could have predicted. Frederick and Freddie, the first polite and the second forward, have the same intuition as Rafael does and double-check his pronouns after Rafael used “they” earlier in the conversation. Sonny and Rafael had both agreed that they weren’t going to stop their families from spilling embarrassing stories about them, and while Lucia and the Carisi parents had shared plenty, the siblings still came through with details and more dirt. Freddie and Frederick go back and forth between retellings, finishing each other’s stories, or interjecting with their own details. Rafael is a bit too quick to greet the waiter who takes their orders. Sonny reassures him by reaching under the table and giving his hand a tight squeeze; Rafael shoots him a grateful smile and squeezes back.

It could have gone much worse, and there are several times that a fight could have broken out. But the triplets care for each other as much as they want to fight one another. Even when they choose how to express that show.

“I’m still not getting something,” Frederick muses past a bite of french toast. “You two are almost the exact opposite. What drew you to one another in the first place?”

“It has to be the sex,” Freddie hums.

Rafael chokes on a sip of water; Sonny scratches the back of his head and laughs nervously. “I don’t think it’s about how much we’re alike,” Sonny says, “but how we treat each other, y’know? Sometimes Raf needs a moment alone, sometimes I need encouragement, and sometimes we need to just be around each other without saying anything.” They look over at Rafael, who is eyeing them with a look that Sonny can only recognize as love. “My parents always said that you should be with someone that you know you should be with. Someone that feels natural to be with. And it never made sense to me until I fell in love with Rafael.”

“Love,” Frederick repeats, eyeing the couple. Freddie’s lips rise into a slow smile. “That’s…major.”

Sonny only shrugs. By the time brunch is over, he’ll be sure he passed the brother test just as easily as Rafael passed the sister test. Rafael is a perfect match for him: it’s something he speculated, and then he felt it, immediately flooded with the sensation. And now, Sonny relishes waking up every day to the fact that he gets to kiss Rafael as much as they can spar with him, they can share meals and walks and spaces, and they return to each other as a refuge from the darkness they face in their jobs. And Frederick and Freddie will tell him themselves that if anyone were to be with their baby brother, they’re thankful it’s Sonny.

For now, Sonny just ogles Rafael with admiration and sighs. Rafael squeezes their hand and pecks the top. “They have a lot of feelings,” he says. “I was surprised by it when we first got together. He doesn’t hide a lot, but he expresses his emotions for the right situation.”

“Well, that’s obvious,” Freddie teases. “He’s been giving you big puppy eyes for an hour.”

Both Rafael and Frederick chuckle; Sonny blushes, having never quite controlled how much or little he shared. “I’d be concerned if he hadn’t.”

“Is it returned?”

“Oh, very much.” Rafael glances at Sonny, and the same adoration, the same love and affection, ripples from his eyes in waves. The brothers have to know the answer to a question like that—Rafael wouldn’t waste his time with someone who didn’t reciprocate his feelings or wasn’t going to reach that point with him. But to hear it uttered is all the sweeter to Sonny. “I don’t think I can ever find someone who loves me as much as I love Sonny. And even if I could, I know it wouldn’t be as amazing as the time I get to spend being in love with Sonny.”

**Author's Note:**

> I got nervous bc I didn't include my legally required Mike Dodds cameo but then I realized I DID and it was also a Domaro cameo so  
> Domaro rights in chat gamers


End file.
